Tile rack for playing games



Oct. 20,1925- N. D. POOL ET Al.

' TILE RACK FOR PLAYme qAnis Filed March 15 1924 INVENTORS Mfl Poo] 19. J11 ezre ue ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 20, 1925.

UNITED STAQLT ES A E NTi QF T NATHAN n. PQQLVAND-A'NT-H'I'ME LEVEQUE, or EAD, scorn DAKOTA, 5

TILE neon FOR PLAYING'GAMEVS.

Application filed March 15, 1924. Serial No/699A73. i

To all whom it may concern. a

Be. it known that we, NATHAN D. Poor, and Axrnmrn J. Lnvnocn, citizens of the United States, residing at Lead, in the county of Lawrence and State of South Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tile Racks for Playing Games, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to game-apparatus, and particularly to the racksfor use'in playing Mah-jongg or ames using tiles,

In the. playing of 1V ah-jongg, racks are ordinarily used for the reception of the pieces or tiles with which thegames are played, these racks being normally angular in form so that the tiles are faced toward the player whose tiles they are and away from the other players. This game is usual- 1y played with four players, each of Whom must keep before him and exposed to his own view a number of tiles bearing various identifications. Certain of the tiles are required to be exposed as they are playedor certain combinations are'made and certain other tiles or combinationsare-concealed but at the end of the game all the tiles in the players hand are to be exposed.

The general object of the invention is to improve upon the ordinary tile rack by forming the rack of two connected parts, one constituting a channel or rack for the reception of those tiles combinations of which are exposed as they are played, and the other constituting a rack for the concealed tiles, thatis, tiles which are not exposed until the game is ended, the two racks being so connected together that at the'end of the game the rack holding the concealed tiles may be turned over so as to expose the tiles in the players hand.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tile rack constructed in accordance with our invention for use in playing Mah-jongg, the tile rack being shown in its playing position:

Figure :2 is a cross section through the tile rack as illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view like Figure 1, but showing the tile rack in its position exposing all of the tiles;

Figure 4 is a crosssectionalview: as in Figure 2 butshowing the tile' rack in its tile-exposingposition} 1' I Referring to these drawings,it will beseen that this rack consists of two .parts "10 and 11. The part 10 is approximately;channelshaped in crosssection and has the; length of the ordinary rack; The part 10 ,is formed with the front flange 12 which. is higher than the rear flangel3. Thepart 11has5 a I e relatively high front flange or w all l4,.the

inner fa-ceofv which is-beveledjdownward and rearward, andit has a downwardly and forwardly inclined wall-l5 and a vertically extending, relativelylow rear flange or wall Attached tothe' ends of the channeled rack 10 are the metallic, strips 17 these and projecting vfrom. the ends of the member ll -are thetrunnions '19. While the game isbeing played, the parts 10 and 11 are disposed as illustrated Figure 1 with the strips being longitudinally slotted, as at,1 8 1 wall l i abutted against the wall 13fThe eealed tiles, however areito be placed in the.

exposed tiles are tobe placediiithe chain neled member or holder lO faceupwardso that the players may. see :then1 The iconmemberor holder 11 with theirbacks against the inclined wall: When the, hand i's played out and to be exposed for counting, the rear receptacle is pulled back and then tipped forward, exposing the concealed hand.

With this construction, it WlllbC seen that the two sets of tiles are kept entirely separate, while at the same time they are kept properly assorted and in proper shape, and when the hand is played the hand may be exposed by simply tipping the rear rack without having to take the individual tiles and place them out upon the table face upward or otherwise expose them.

It is to be noted that the front wall 14 of member 11 at its lower end is chamfered or cut a-way, as at 20, andthat the rear wall 13 of the member 10 is extended outward in the form of a flange 21, andwhen the holder migl it be applied in a num holder for the tiles or pieces used in the game of ll'lah-jongg, we do not wish to be limited to this as it is obvious that the holder might be used for other playing pieces such as used, for instance, in the game of don'iinoes or in. other games and particularly where it is necessary that certain pieces be concealed and certain pieces are displayed during the playing of the game and then all pieces displayed when the game is at an end.

\Ve 'do not wish to be limited to any specific materialfor the construction of these racks or to the details of construction, asit is obvious that the p ri nei )leof the device her of ways. o claim z-. 1. A tile rack of the character described comprising two separate parallel members,

one of said members being formed to provide a longitudinally extending channel for v the support of a series of exposed tiles, the

other member being disposed at all times behind the first named member and being formed to support a series of tiles with their faces concealed from all but one of the players, the two members being so-connected that the last named member may be turned over upon the table substantially at right angles to its normal position to expose the tiles carried therein without affecting the position of the first named member.

2. A tile, rack of the character described comprising two parallel tile-holding members, one of said members being approximately channel-shaped, the other of said finembers having a front wall and a rear wall, the front wall'be-inghigher than the rear wall and adapted to concealthe faces ofthetiles carried in the holder, strips attached to the'ends of the base of one of said holders, each strip being longitudinally slotted, and trunnions slidably and pivotally connecting each end of the other of said holders to said strip, the trunnions passing through the slot of the strip.

3, A tile-holding rack of the character described con'iprising a channeled member constituting aholder for exposed tiles and having front andrear walls, a second member disposed rearward of the first member and having an upwardly and forwardly extending front wall and a relatively low rear wall, strips attached to the ends of'the base of the first named member and extending rearward therefrom, the rear portions of the strip being longitudinally slotted, and trunnions projecting from the ends of the second named member and into said slots whereby theseeond named member may be shifted into close contiguity with. the first member or pulled rearward therefrom and then turned over.

4;. A tile rack of the'character described comprising a cliiannel-sha-ped holder for the tiles to be exposed, a channel shaped holder for the tiles to be concealed, this last named holder having a front wall formed with an NATHAN nrooL. s ANTHIME J. LEVEQUE. 

